This invention relates to an optical connector for directly connecting optical fibers to one another.
In recent years, proposal is made of an optical connector for directly connecting a plurality of optical fibers to one another. The optical connector of the type is required to be able to mount the optical fibers with high density and to be reduced in size.
The optical connector comprises a housing and a clamp member holding the optical fibers.
Each of the optical fiber is held by the clamp member after an end of the optical fiber is preliminarily polished. Thereafter, the optical fiber is inserted through a narrow hole of the housing to be slightly protruded from the housing by a predetermined length. Simultaneously, the clamp member is adhered and fixed to the housing. For example, such optical connector is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication (JP-A) Nos. 2001-42167 and 2000-56161.
However, the above-mentioned optical connector requires such a highly skilled and complicated operation of inserting the optical fiber through the narrow hole of the housing to slightly protrude the optical fiber from the housing by the predetermined length and simultaneously adhering and fixing the clamp member to the housing.
In an assembling operation of the optical connector, when the optical fiber is inserted into the narrow hole, polishing waste left after polishing or dust in the narrow hole is often attached to an end face and a side surface of the optical fiber.
Therefore, after the clamp member is adhered and fixed to the housing, the optical connector requires a troublesome work to remove the polishing waste or the dust adhered to the optical fiber.